Leading Childcare Recruitment Experts

It can often be a daunting and frustrating task to get your children to eat meals, especially healthy ones. Research suggests that it takes 10 to 15 tries before a child will actually eat, and like, a new food. How you present healthy foods may factor in as well. A recent study showed that school-aged children (7-10 years old) ate more carrots when they were served whole carrots versus when they were served diced carrots.

Be a good role model – children tend to mirror the eating habits of parents and carers. So if they see you snacking on healthy foods and eating well, they are likely to do the same.

Try to plan ahead – sometimes this can be hard in our hectic lives, but if you plan healthy meals and snacks even a few days ahead then it takes the pressure off trying to find something last minute. An easy way to do this is to cut up vegetable sticks, such as carrot and cucumber, and have them ready in the fridge or bag when you are going out for a quick snack. At meal time’s batch cook, maybe cook enough to last a couple of days or cook several meals at a time and have them throughout the week or freeze them for a later date. If you are organised and relaxed, meal times start more relaxed.

Get them involved in cooking – kids love helping, so if you can allow them to pick ingredients in the supermarket and then help with a simple dish such as home made pizza or chopping tomatoes for a pasta sauce (supervised with plastic or butter knife), they will be proud of what they have achieved and will want to eat it with the rest of the family.

Encourage and praise – even if they only eat one pea or a piece of carrot that has been dipped in a sauce, its positive steps in the right direction and they should be praised for it.

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Are you nervous about bringing your newborn baby home? Have lots of questions that you are unsure of the answer to? Or simply have a busy and hectic lifestyle and could do with a bit of extra support at the beginning, then a Maternity Nurse could be the answer for you.

A maternity nurse is someone who comes into your home and helps care for you and your newborn baby after birth. They normally work twenty four hours a day covering the nightshift, and can help guide you in caring for your baby, or they can take sole charge in the care of your newborn, depending on your preference.

Every family has different needs, for example first time parents may want to learn more about the caring for a baby such as bathing, getting them dressed and how to prepare them for sleep times. Alternatively parents with older children who are more confident may want specific help, such as night time routines and/or breastfeeding, or may simply want the opportunity to spend time with the older siblings without causing too much disruption or jealousy.

At Rockmybaby® Nanny Agency we can provide you with a Maternity Nurse that has a wealth of knowledge and experience. They are not only there to care for the baby but to be someone to talk to if you are feeling overwhelmed by motherhood. This can be especially beneficial during the night feeds when you are tired; having someone to support you and make the time go quicker is priceless.

Breast feeding can look easy in theory but, in some cases, is not so easy in practice. As a new Mum this can be daunting and emotional, but a Maternity Nurse can provide support and reassurance as well as using their experience if for example baby doesn’t latch on.

So, let Rockmybaby® Nanny Agency take some of that stress away and provide you with a Maternity Nurse to guide and support you whilst you are learning about your newborn.

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We all look forward to our summer holiday; the promise of sun, sea and most of all, time to relax. But for those with children, relaxation isn’t always a possibility. One solution is to hire a holiday nanny, ensuring that your holiday is indeed a holiday.

Rockmybaby® has many holiday nannies available. From the moment your holiday begins, you’ll have an extra pair of hands to help manage the multiple suitcases, the travel cot, the car seats; not forgetting the children themselves! Fresh ideas and games for the plane, means the five-hour flight literally does fly by!

Many children have a daily schedule with set meal, nap and bedtimes. A holiday nanny means that you and your family can make the most of your time together, without deviating too much from your regular schedule. So, if you’re down by the beach and your child needs a nap, but you don’t feel like sitting in the hotel room, your holiday nanny can take care of this for you.

Fancy dining in the swish restaurant next-door, but it doesn’t take reservations until 7.30pm and your child’s bedtime is 7pm? Again, your holiday nanny can be there to take care of the children, while you enjoy your evening out. Most children I know love to wake nice and early. With a holiday nanny, there’s no need to debate who gets to have a lie-in, or count down the minutes until the holiday club opens. You can agree working hours with your nanny to cover some early mornings too.

A holiday nanny doesn’t mean losing out on spending quality time with your family. In fact, it can enable you to enhance this time by focusing on your children, without worrying about everyday things such as meal preparation. For families with children of differing ages, it means no-one misses out on their preferred activity.

Meeting your nanny before your holiday, gives you piece of mind so you can be safe in the knowledge that they’re a great fit for you and your family. They will bring energy and enthusiasm, skills and experience, enabling peace of mind all round. So, why not let Rockmybaby® find a holiday nanny for you! Happy holidays!

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Auto enrolment is a new law that requires all employers, including nanny employers to set up a pension for their employees, the nannies and the employers will both funds the pension. Any nannies between the ages of 22 and the UK pension age that earns more than the current tax-free allowance should be participating.

Please note this new law extends as well to part time nannies and nannies always have a legal right to join. If your nanny meets the above criteria you as an employer must participate, however, she can choose to opt out and that choice is solely hers.

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Rockmybaby® has noticed an uptick in online babysitting platforms in London! But buyer beware, many of these sites are letting candidates as young as 18 register as sitters! Also, many of these new babysitting booking sites do not require an Enhanced DBS check instead they accept the basic DBS. They even have links to aid candidates in obtaining a basic DBS, which is a sub-standard criminal check and NOT recognized by nanny agencies. Many of these sites are “volume based,” and are interested in as many bookings possible without doing proper candidate vetting and verification.

The established babysitting services in the UK, like Rockmybaby®, require candidates to be 21 and the nannies must have an Enhanced Criminal background check. Also the nannies are interviewed in person, references are verified, gaps in employment are questioned, first-aid training is a must, ID documents are personally verified, address checks are done and all candidates have at least 2 years of paid childcare experience.

Many of these sites make booking a snap via an app or online platform but their vetting processes and due diligence are dubious, therefore it best to work through an agency like Rockmybaby® who personally meet all the candidates and whose vetting process is extremely thorough, personal and detail oriented!

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If you want to further your nanny career, it is imperative that you only work with the best agencies, like Rockmybaby®! There are so many nanny agencies in London, how do you know which agencies are best to align yourself with? One of the best ways to ensure you are working with credible agencies is to be sure that they are members of ANA (The Association of Nanny Agencies).

The best agencies care about “making standards matter,” and Rockmybaby® epitomizes that! They will send you targeted jobs that you will thrive in, they will help you with your CV, interview tips and negotiate on your behalf. ANA agencies make sure that everything is “above the board,” and will be sure your future employer understands all the legal implications about hiring a nanny in the UK. Rockmybaby® cares about your long-term happiness and will check in with you in your new job to make sure things are going well and aid in challenges you may be having.

Also, Rockmybaby® can direct you as to why you should protect yourself with nanny insurance and how you can buy it affordably. Finally, if there is ever a problem, Rockmybaby® has access to a legal helpline where they can seek advice on your behalf and therefore, help you advocate more strongly for yourself.

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A maternity nurse is a specialist in the care of newborn babies and will literally move into your home when you come home from hospital with your new baby or babies! She will be on hand 24 hours a day for up to 5 or 6 days a week and will stay for as long as you choose to book her for. Rockmybaby specializes in maternity placements.

She will guide and support the mother with all the forthcoming challenges every parent is presented with, and much much more. This includes everything from changing that first nappy, bathing, all feeds, bottle or breast, developing a routine and settling. They will also take on the the babies laundry, maintaining the nursery, and aim to establish some kind of structure to the day. Some are happy to cook, and even unload the dishwasher but this is not their priority. Maternity nurses do not do housework! Some choose to specialise in particular areas and have a mass of experience and knowledge on subjects such as colic, reflux, preemie babies, multiples etc. In most positions (but not all) the baby will sleep in the same room as the maternity nurse. If the baby is being breastfed then at night times she will bring the baby to the Mum and stay with her whilst she feeds, she will assist in helping the Mum with proper breastfeeding techniques. and will settle the baby back down so you are able to get back to sleep again. A maternity nurse’s priority is the health and general wellbeing of Mum & baby but also Dad too. Dad’s often feel a little left out at this stage especially if the baby is being breastfed, so it’s about helping them to understand how they can help and encouraging some father child bonding time.

Rockmybaby will help you vet that perfect maternity nurse and ensure that Mum & babies needs are cared for and the whole household runs smoothly and that Mum gets some well earned rest, particularly after a caesarean.

It certainly takes a special kind of person to become a maternity nurse. It is an extremely sensitive, personal and intimate time for clients and therefore requires somebody who is professional, knowledgeable, friendly and discreet. Someone on hand to assist and support but not to take over, ultimately a maternity nurse is there to teach you all the tricks of the trade and many will have looked after more than 100 babies in their career.

To become a maternity nurse you will need to display a certain amount of warmth and understanding towards both the client and their family during the childbearing period and be there to support them sometimes through the pregnancy, but mainly after the birth. You can gain further information on accredited courses at MNT http://www.mnttraining.co.uk/index.htm or N.E.S.T. http://www.newborneducation.co.uk

A maternity nurse works on a self employed basis, she will have her own contract and will be responsible for paying her own tax and national insurance. You would generally expect to pay a retainer fee when booking a maternity nurse , this is usually 1-2 weeks of the agreed fee. This is to ensure she doesn’t take on other work whilst you require her to be with you. A ‘booking’ can be anything from 1-2 weeks to 3-6 months. It is generally longer for twins or triplets. You can choose to have days or nights only which is usually charged at an hourly rate, or you may prefer blocks of 24 hours, which is charged at a daily rate up to 6 days a week. Within this time the maternity nurse is entitled to some time off during each 24 hour booked subject to contract. This is mostly for her to catch up on sleep, although sometimes just to head out for some fresh air!

If you are expecting (Congratulations!) and you think you may like to hire a Maternity Nurse, please do call Rockmybaby and we would be happy to discuss any queries you may have.